As schools across the country open their doors after the summer break, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced Thursday that states may request a one-year delay for incorporating student test scores into teacher evaluations.

Colorado is already there.

This spring, state lawmakers passed a law giving school districts another year to make student assessments part of the equation in evaluating teachers, essentially deciding to slow down the pace of reforms of 2010’s Senate Bill 191.

The latest results reflect similar views to those outlined in a poll released in February, which also showed that men and women disagree on the issue. According to the new poll, 59 percent of men support arming school employees, while more than half of the women polled opposed it.

Wednesday’s poll also showed that 74 percent of voters support placing metal detectors at the entrances of school campuses.

“In large numbers, Colorado voters want metal detectors in the doorways of schools and a healthy majority wants teachers and school officials armed in the interest of keeping kids safe,” said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University poll.

Denver Public Schools Superintendent Tom Boasberg told the Denver Post in a February interview that he opposed legislation to arm teachers.

“The safety and security of our students is the number one priority for Denver Public Schools,” Boasberg said. “We do not believe that arming teachers is the right solution to ensure the safety of our schools.”

Teacher helping students at a Denver public school (Photo By Kathryn Scott Osler/The Denver Post)

In an effort to attract and retain quality teachers, the Colorado Department of Education has awarded the Colorado Boettcher Teacher Residency and Teach for America each $1.47 million in grants.

Formally known as the Quality Teacher Recruitment Program Grant, the money will span a two-year period in which the organizations will collaborate with Colorado school districts to recruit, train and support high-quality teachers in some of the state’s most demanding areas. During the two years, the Colorado Department of Education will have the opportunity to contract with a third party to measure the organizations’ results.

Operated by the Public Education and Business Coalition, the Colorado Boettcher Teacher Residency strives to stem the tide against Colorado’s rapidly increasing rate of impoverished youth through recruiting and supporting skilled teachers. The group focuses on preparing teachers not just for curriculums and textbooks but for cultural and linguistic challenges that may arise as well. This results in 96 percent of Boettcher Teachers remaining in the classroom after their five-year commitment.

Elizabeth Miner of Platte Canyon School District was named the 2014 Colorado Teacher of the Year on Monday by the Colorado Department of Education.

Miner was selected based on her vision, her ability to effectively represent teaching professionals across Colorado, and her capacity to both inspire students and get results.

Miner has been a middle school physical education teacher at Fitzsimmons Middle School for seven years. Her focus is cross-curricular core skill development, combining academics with physical activity.

Rim Watson, principal of Fitzsimmons Middle School, described Miner as “a teacher who advocates for all subject areas knowing her students will not learn complicated math unless they are strong and healthy.”

Through the National Teacher of the Year program, Miner will receive professional development opportunities, including attendance at a week-long Space Camp provided by a sponsorship from The Colorado Legacy Foundation, Adams State College, SMART Technologies, Colorado Free Masons and Blue Bell Ice Cream.

Miner will also be recognized at a White House ceremony in the spring.

A grant aimed at providing assistance for ongoing recovery efforts following the mass shooting at the Century Aurora 16 theater has been awarded to Aurora Public Schools by the U.S. Department of Education.

The district will receive a $50,000 Project School Emergency Response to Violence grant, which is doled out by the office of Safe and Healthy Students — a sector of the DOE. The department awarded more than $29 million to 97 grantees since the grant program began in 2001.

“This senseless attack profoundly impacted students and educators throughout the city, and these resources will help the Aurora community provide special care to those who need it,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in a statement.

In a news release, the DOE noted that more than 300 APS students and staff were impacted by the shooting, with several students from Gateway and Hinkley High Schools being directly affected. The mass shooting that left 12 dead and at least 58 injured took place July 20, almost a week before high school registration in the district was scheduled to begin.

But one district, 110-student Kit Carson RE-1 out on the eastern plains, considered the move several years ago and decided against it. What they wound up implementing was a sort of hybrid week that extended the traditional school day by 10 minutes, took advantage of existing holiday off-days and added one Monday off per month.

“It’s not really saving us money, except wear and tear on buses and a little on utilities,” said superintendent Gerald Keefe. “But it’s designed as a way to give parents a little family time. And then we thought that as far as people know well in advance if they want to schedule something like an orthodontist appointment, there’s a day they can do that.”

In an effort to provide more Colorado adults with a high school credential and basic technology skills, the Colorado Department of Education is partnering with GED Testing Service to offer the high school equivalency test on computer.

While the computerized GED test is the same GED test that is currently offered using the old paper-and-pencil model, the computer testing process is streamlined, and offers test takers new options and more convenience.

By taking the GED test using a computer, the waiting period of receiving results is eliminated, as test takers receive instant, unofficial score reports upon test completion. The computerized GED test also gives test takers more flexibility, as online test scheduling and registration is available 24/7.

The computerized test is currently offered at these three locations: Arapahoe Community College in Littleton (5900 South Santa Fe Drive), Community College of Denver (1560 N. Broadway), and Otero Junior College in La Junta (1802 Colorado Avenue). More locations will be added in the future.

Since its launch in January, more than 8,700 computerized GED tests have been delivered in 24 states. GED Testing Service expects more than half of all states to offer the test on computer by the end of 2012.

The state board of education will hold a conversation about the draft rules at this month’s meeting on Wednesday, Mar. 7, and will later hold public hearing sessions before voting to approve them.

In the current draft version of the rules, teachers who want to file an appeal after they receive a rating of ineffective or partially ineffective will only have 15 days to file an appeal. Everything that the teacher wishes to contest must be on the original document filed.

The burden of proof falls on the teacher to demonstrate that he or she deserved an effective rating.Read more…

The bill, aims to help track when transfer students complete enough credits for an Associates degree by creating an Associate Degree Completion Program in the Colorado Department of Higher Education. Students can, but don’t have to be, in the process of continuing to earn a Bachelor’s degree.

The bill would require four-year institutions to notify two-year institutions when a transfer student completes 60 credit hours. The two-year college will then audit the credits to see if an associate degree has been completed, and if so, to then award the degree.

Costs are expected to be minimal associated with data-sharing, but the fiscal note says the schools are expected to be able to absorb them.

Colorado Classroom provides ground-level reporting on what’s going on in the state’s public schools and on college campuses, looking at people, places, issues, trends and innovative approaches to education.